A new large scale review recently published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported significant differences in children whose mother’s consumed large amounts of Fish and Omega-3s in comparison to mothers that did not. Prior observational studies have established some evidence that taking Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) during pregnancy might be beneficial to a child’s psychomotor development in later years.
Over 81,000 mother-child pairs were evaluated at the age of 6 months with almost 78,000 mother-child pairs evaluated at the age of 1 year. The study looked specifically at the maternal intake of fish and Omega-3’s and observed the childhood neurodevelopment at the ages of 6 months and 1 year.
Researchers found that the maternal fish intake during pregnancy was independently associated with a reduction in the risk of developing delayed problem solving skills at 6 months of age. Also a reduced risk of delays in the development of fine motor skills and problem solving skills were seen as the child reached one year of age.
Reductions in the risks of developing delays in communication and fine motor skills at 6 months of age and in gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and problem solving skills at 1 year of age, were associated with the maternal intake of Omega-6 fatty acids. However, a high Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio was associated with an increase in the risk of developing delayed problem solving skills at age 1. Although researcher were unsure as to why this ratio is so important, they believe that they Omega-6 fatty acids might increase the risk for preterm births, which is strongly tied to neurological development.
Researchers concluded that this study shows there is substantial evidence to encourage the intake of Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids during pregnancy to support the neurodevelopment in children. More research is needed.
Okay, let’s take a moment to learn more about Essential and Non-Essential Fatty Acids:
Chemically a fatty acid is an organic acid with an acid group at one end of its molecule and a methyl at the other end. Fatty acids are categorized in the Omega groups 3, 6 or 9 according to the location of their last double bond.
An Essential Fatty Acid is a fatty acid that the body cannot manufacture by itself, in other words they must be obtained through supplementation or through foods. There are 2 fatty acids that are designated as essential fatty acids: linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. There are more fatty acids than these 2 specific essential fatty acids found in the Omega 3-6-9 groups but a healthy body may be able to manufacture them as long as there is enough linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, so they are considered non-essential fatty acids. There are however certain health benefits to be obtained by intaking some of the non-essential fatty acids directly, especially in the case of the Omega 3 fatty acids.
The Need for More Omega 3
Humans evolved on a diet that had approximately a 1:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFA), today our Western diet contains a ratio of 15:1 – 16.7:1. A typical Western diet is deficient in Omega-3 Fatty Acids and has an overabundance of Omega-6 Fatty Acids when compared to the diet in which humans evolved and their genetic patterns were established. In a study done by The Harvard School of Public Health over 96,000 deaths in the US were attributed to being caused by an Omega-3 deficiency. Other research shows that excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids and high Omega-6/Omega-3 ratios promote many types of diseases like autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, cancer and cardiovascular disease. It is obvious that increasing Omega-3 Fatty Acid intake is necessary for a healthier population.
Molecular Distillation
The public was made aware of excessive levels of mercury, a neurotoxic heavy metal, as well as PCBs and other toxic organic compounds found in certain fish species from a well-publicized federal advisory in 2001. It was determined that fish oil supplements could also be subject to excessive levels of these neurotoxins. It makes choosing a “CLEAN” fish oil even more important than ever. For this very reason Viva Vitamins uses pure, high quality, molecularly distilled Omega-3 EPA/DHA fish oil in the products they manufacture. Molecular distillation is a process where all heavy metals and PCBs are virtually removed from the fish oil. Additionally extensive testing is performed to verify that all federal standards of purity have not just been met but have been surpassed.
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